The Boy Just Out of Reach
by macarrajayde
Summary: OotP New Year's Ever intervention. Harry, Hermione & the Weasley children at the Burrow for NYE. Ginny falls off her broom during a mock Quidditch game & begins having a strange & confronting dream about her situation with Harry. One Shot Challenge :


**A/N: This a oneshot response to _lawreadaholic_'s 'Random Prompt Challenge'. :) Hope I did okay.  
>My prompts were: Butterfly, New Year, Blue, Leaves*, Fairy Tale, Crumbs, Window, Quidditch.<br>*I didn't realy use this one but I slotted it in there :P**

If you like this then please check out my other fic (its gonna be rather long but only stands at 5 chapters right now): Socium Perfecta.  
>ENJOY! ~morsmordre-mascara<p>

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><p>Any other year, Ginny would have returned to Hogwarts a day or so after Christmas with the rest of the students to feast and celebrate New Year with a bang. This year was different. Dumbledore had insisted that the family (Harry and Hermione included) remain with Arthur for an extra week to enjoy his recovery after the attack. Molly had chosen to move the family back to the Burrow for the remainder of the holidays, her reason being to allow Arthur some fresh air; though everyone else knew it was simply because she wasn't very keen on spending much more time with Kreacher.<p>

Fred and George, determined to make the most of their final day off, had insisted on organising some 'activities' to ring in the New Year which was why Ginny now found herself hovering several feet above the air amidst a miniature game of field Quidditch. She'd strategically opted to play Keeper for Harry and George allowing herself the perfect opportunity to watch Harry in action. She zoned out of the game, concentrating entirely on the way Harry manoeuvred his broom, ducking and diving around Fred and a rather wobbly Hermione towards Ron at the opposite end of their make-shift pitch. Her only thought was how at home he seemed, in the air, even more so than on the ground. She allowed herself the liberty of not bothering to even watch the Quaffle, knowing it would never make it past Harry and George to reach her end of the field.

Shifting numbly on her perch, Ginny smiled as a brilliant blue flash flickered in the corner of her sight. Reluctantly shifting her gaze she saw a large blue butterfly dancing just out of her reach. Stretching her arm out to catch it she was completely oblivious to the numerous warning shouts before the Quaffle made impact with her head and sent her toppling from her broom to the ground below.

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><p>Splashes of colour drifted to the foreground of Ginny's vision as a fuzzy image formed before her. She knew she was dreaming the minute the fog cleared –that or she had completely imagined the Quidditch match and was indeed standing in a brightly lit clearing enclosed in suffocating darkness. Remembering her fall, she highly doubted she'd dreamt it all up. She blinked a few times and gazed at her surroundings trying to discern a memory of this part of the forest- for the Forbidden Forest it most certainly was. This particular clearing was bright and much less dreary and foreboding than the real forest and she had no recollection of ever being here in her life. She sighed and slowing sunk onto a large rock which had suddenly appeared beside her.<p>

That was when she noticed the bread crumbs- they were reminiscent of the muggle fairy tale Hermione had told her the other day at her request- 'Hansel and Gretel'. She followed the small trail with her eyes as it receded into the darkness before leaping to her feet and attempting to follow it. With each step, a pathway emerged before her that threaded through the darkness, off into oblivion. Before she knew what was happening, her feet were carrying her cautiously along the track, eager to discover what lay ahead. After a short while, Ginny began to see the outline of a person forming further along the trail and she began calling to them. Her cries began small but soon grew to shouts and pleas for the stranger to turn around or give her a hint as to what was going on. Strangely, she felt herself falling further and further behind the mysterious figure, the path seeming endless. As she tripped and fell unceremoniously into a small pile of leaves the silhouette finally turned, revealing its identity.

"HARRY!" Ginny shrieked before pulling herself to her feet and running as fast as she could toward the Gryffindor. His glasses were slightly askew, hair ruffled and Quidditch uniform perfectly fitting with smudges of mud covering his limbs. He looked just as he had the day she realised that what she felt for him was more than just some fleeting celebrity crush. It didn't take long for Ginny to be within reach of the Seeker. She reached out to grab onto him when she suddenly slammed into a barrier of some sort and went crashing to the ground once more. Gasping in shock, she reached out again and felt the invisible wall which stood between her and the older boy. Her ankle was throbbing and she all but screamed his name but he simply shook his head in confusion and turned away from the young Weasley, to continue along the path. The beginnings of tears stung Ginny's eyes and she simply knelt before the spot he'd vacated. He hadn't heard her, he probably hadn't even seen her- chances were... he couldn't. Inching forward, she realised that the barrier had strangely disappeared along with Harry. And that was when it hit her. This wasn't just any dream- it was a reflection of reality. Her tears began clouding her vision, the colours of the forest drifting together before finally going completely black.

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><p>Ginny sat up so suddenly that her head swam and vision blurred. She rubbed her temples and gratefully gazed around at the familiar setting of her bedroom. Her eyes stopped at her window directly beside her bed where the large blue butterfly was resting on one of the many, now empty, branches of the large elm tree which stood beside the Burrow. It was growing dark outside and with a smile she listened intently as her mother shrieked some form of small abuse as she ushered Fred and George out of her kitchen. Ginny leant against the window frame and went to reach her hand out to the butterfly... only to hit the window pane. She frowned slightly before smiling grimly in realisation. She carefully lent over to her bedside table and pulled a small blue note book out of the top draw. She opened the diary to a fresh page, dipped the quill which was stored just inside the cover in her ink well and began to write.<p>

_Dear Diary,_

_This year will be different.  
>I promise myself that every year but I'm determined to make it so this time. My New Year's Revolution is simple. I know in previous years it's been something foolish like "Get Harry to notice me" or "Get Harry to ask me out" but I've finally realised what I have to do. <em>

_I'm going to talk to Hermione about it tomorrow but... I think it's time for me to move on. I know Harry likes Cho- everyone does. I know he doesn't see me in the way I see him. So... what's the point in longing for him when it'll only bring me more sadness and heartbreak? Well, here goes. This is a promise to myself._

_I, Ginevra Weasley, resolve to move on. I resolve to cease pining after a pointless attraction any longer. I resolve to find someone else who can distract me as well as he can and to forget any feelings I have for him. I resolve to leave my "celebrity crush" behind because I know it'll never be reciprocated.  
>He is and shall always remain "The Boy Just Out Of Reach"...<em>

~Ginny.


End file.
